Pickleball Expands in Asia with Women's Event in Sri Lanka and Junior Growth

Sri Lanka hosted its first women‑only over‑40 pickleball tournament, Dinking Divas 2026, on June 20‑21 at the Colombo Pickle Club. Organized by The Pickle Assembly founders Nayantara Fonseka, Anusha Senadhira and Nilka Dabare, the event featured four divisions designed for beginners to advanced players, with a special Timeless Divas division for women aged 40 and above. The organizers plan to hold the tournament twice a year to build a lasting community of women players.

Across the wider region, junior pickleball is surging. The Asia Pickleball Junior Open in Vietnam’s Quang Nam province grew from 80 participants in 2024 to 246 this year, with Vietnamese and Japanese athletes winning most medals. China is constructing an elite academy on Hainan Island, while India’s player base has roughly tripled in three years, reaching an estimated 1,200 courts. A newly formed seven‑nation alliance has scheduled over 30 tournaments with official rankings. Together, these developments highlight the rapid expansion of pickleball throughout Asia.